Of course, this reversal in no way signals that Barack Obama has changed his goals. This was a defeat forced by an indignant public. This is a defeat for Obama’s administrative lawmaking and a major victory for the Tea Party movement.

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In fact, this is the second time the same time they have defeated the creeping threat of euthanasia. Democrats added a provision to finance “voluntary” end-of-life counseling to the gargantuan 2009 ObamaCare bill. After Sarah Palin alerted her FaceBook followers to the bill’s “death panels,” Tea Party activists sprang into action. The backlash became so intense that the measure had to be struck from the bill, which Nancy Pelosi managed to “parachute” onto the president’s desk.

The mass media only learned of this after Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-OR, announced the development — which he and Sen. Jay Rockefeller pushed for — in an e-mail to his supporters. “We would ask that you not broadcast this accomplishment out to any of your lists e-mails can too easily be forwarded,” he wrote. “The longer this goes unnoticed, the better our chances of keeping it.” The president’s decision to institute the measure in the face of massive popular, and Congressional, opposition created a greater uproar. Today’s NYT states that, according to anonymous advisers, the president has decided “to delete references to end-of-life planning” once again.

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The Times adds the regulation was issued by Dr. Donald Berwick, the recess-appointed administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Berwick has professed his “love” for the British health care system and stated flatly, “Excellent health care is by definition redistributional.” The Times euphemistically calls Doctor Death “a longtime advocate for better end-of-life care.”

The media come off as the worst players in this drama. This federal regulation was discovered, not by the New York Times, or Katie Courie, or National Review, but by LifeTree, a North Carolina-based pro-life ministry originally dedicated to erecting a 23-foot-tall tree decorated with baby booties to drive home the carnage of abortion.

The media’s silence is Obama’s greatest ally. As Blumenauer wrote, the longer the Left’s secretive power grabs and offenses against the Constitution go unreported, the more successful they will be. Once again, professional politicians and the prestige media have failed in their duties as the protectors of our rights. Only independent news sources, such as LifeNews, talk radio, and this website, have been dedicated to a rigorous pursuit of truth over spin, substance over style, reporting over reputation. Today’s announcement should be a reminder of the importance of grassroots activists and citizen journalists — because they are the only kind left.